I have found the 15 post rule to engage in PM is absurd. I have had others PM me with questions and with 11 posts under my belt, I can’t even reply to them. Replying by email evidently is not the answer because it appears the member does not check that particular email frequently. Many college age students don’t! I know my D doesn’t like going to hers.
I have been a member of message boards since they began and to this day have not had such a ridiculous restriction.
If the Administrators of this board want to make it user friendly but with some controls to weed out hackers then lower the requirement to 5 posts or something. The current policy discourages serious people from communicating. PM IS an important part of a message board because some responses or questions are too specific to keep posting in an open thread.
If anyone agrees, please express your frustration here!!!
I have been a long time member here. Even before 2004, before we switched over to the new and fancy board you see here today!!
In the scheme of things 15 posts doesn’t seem to be an inordinate amount of posts. Especially not for what you get in return for having CC! Back in the “dark” ages having only a handful of parents and students on here made for such a sad data gather information site. But over the years, 12+ now it has become a wealth of information and support for so very many.
And I can honestly say CC has made all the world of difference in the lives of my FIVE children who have all benefited from what is now the CC world. After undergrad and now grad school and med school this place is truly remarkable. People who have the same questions, needs and frustrations as yourself.
You are not alone.
15 posts is one of the requirements. I would gladly adhere to this requirement for what one will receive in return. It is priceless.
There is a reason for this rule. Despite due vigilance, we still get spammers who have gotten some stuff through. At least they do not get to the PM boxes without going through a lot more time and trouble. You can still send a message and alert the person you have in a thread.
I participate on another board that has a 30 post requirement before one can use the PM feature, so I don’t think the CC rule is that unusual. If you find it frustrating, why not say that instead of calling it absurd?
I like it. I post on other boards without this requirement and get way too much spam. Like kat said, definitely worth the tradeoff.
On a side note, college students really should be in the habit of checking emails a few times a day. Schedule changes? Canceled class? Professor requests?
Never knew there was a minimum post requirement but am glad as all my pms have been interesting and no spam. My kids DO check their emails–could be about their $ or S’s work or D’s U. H and I regularly check our wmails too.
What, people get PMs? I think I am missing out or I am just really unpopular. Please, don’t feel you need to PM me to make me feel better. It is too late.
I didn’t realize until recently that there was a limit before you could reply. I either hit 15 posts very quickly or the filter failed, because I was getting-and replying to PM’s in the first few days I was on CC.
I like UCB’s idea-why on earth can’t it be made so that people can reply to PM’s personally sent to THEM? The alternative is to go on a public thread and say, “sorry X, can’t reply because I’m not allowed.” That seems even messier.
Thanks for the responses on this. Several of you are correct that the abuse of PMs by spammers forced us to take some action. While some may be crying foul over the new restriction please note we had a larger crowd complaining about unwanted solicitation via PM. In the end, we feel the restriction is the much lesser of two evils. Do you feel 15 posts is fair?
By the way, I do like the idea of allowing replies, regardless of post count. Not sure if the vBulletin plugin we’re using allows such customization, but we can definitely do some research on that. Thanks!
@sseamom - You speak my language and hit the nail on the head. If someone can PM you and you can’t reply to them it is considered rude in my perspective. Going back to the open discussion thread to tell them you can’t - is an embarrassing and a needless task. I had to do a post like this! Recently, the same person sent another PM and had to end it with “I know you can’t reply yet but maybe soon.” I had something I wanted to say in response and couldn’t!!!
I participate on approximately 10 professional & leisure message boards and find that those with 5 posts to trigger extra rights are reasonable. Some have no restriction beyond registration and confirmation. What spammer is going beyond that degree. I don’t have a problem of getting spammed on ANY of those boards so why is CC any different?
@mstee - I’ve monitored this MB for just over a year since I found it to be a very helpful resource as my D was ready to pursue college. Until forcing myself just today, I only had 10 posts in the entire year. Some choose to contribute at a different pace than others so it IS more difficult than you think.
@ucbalumnus - you are a true visionary with an open mind. May those with their gazillion posts can open theirs as well. Brilliant suggestion!!! or should I have PM’d this too you?
@Lenitus - please look into this because it’s absurd (oops! to be politically correct ‘frustrating’) the way it’s setup now and has a negative affect. Punish the spammers not those who contribute - even on a smaller scale like myself.
The way I read it was just that a message was sent by PM (or email) not the contents.
I guess I also must have racked up a lot of posts quickly because I never had problems responding to PMs once I realized they existed. Tend to send more replies than initiating.
Anyone who can’t wander off to some random corner of this website and quickly rack up the minimum number of posts really hasn’t thought through this issue.